


Julep

by akuli



Series: The “Everyone’s Herobrine” AU [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Light Angst, Minor Character Death, Temporary Character Death, deo dies temporarily because they r in a minecraft tournament, none of the ccs perma-die, this is... a collection of tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:33:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28622607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akuli/pseuds/akuli
Summary: In which Dan learns patience through an unexpected source, and runs from Herobrine for three days.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: The “Everyone’s Herobrine” AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098080
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Julep

**Author's Note:**

> places my funky little au down.
> 
> so, hi. this wasn’t supposed to be the work that went up, but because VT is being reworked, i thought, what better time to put my funky little au out, while i still have time. most of the worldbuilding done in this series (ie, the sky gods & herobrine mechanics) is completely my own, and one i’m happy to elaborate on. i’m aiming for 5-6 works in this collection so... i hope you guys enjoy <3
> 
> the title’s taken from the punch brothers song, which is a banger

Dan wakes up to a crack of thunder. This is what causes him to scramble from his bed and fall onto the cool floor of the lab, which results in the exaggerated noise of pain you’d expect from someone who experienced true pain so little in their life. When he looks up, however,  _ that’s _ when he actually starts to get scared. The netherrack pillar he’d let Trayaurus set up, despite his own reservations, before he began to recount the story for his two _trusted_ companions only a few hours earlier, now set alight, despite the rain.

“ Trayaurus,” He looks from the pillar, to the man himself, to Grim, whose tail makes a clicking noise against the tile, despite the severity of the situation, “ What have you  _ done _ .”

Dan’s best friend does not answer him; he is enraptured by the flames, and the way Herobrine’s eyes have gone scarlet against the crimson netherrack.

(Dan doesn’t consider himself a coward. Later, when Pat digs a sword into his skin, he thinks he might be, judging by the way Jen hesitates when Pat asks her if she believes the man before them is Dan, and the disappointment in his eyes.)

He finds temporary safety in the jungle, the villagers pursuing him struggling to navigate the thick brush of vines hindering their already limited movement, fallen branches with many leaves remaining attached obscuring Dan to the point that he no longer hears the shuffle that’s distinctly associated with villagers. He slows, and eventually comes to a stop, leaning his head back against one of the towering trees. 

When his body attempts to succumb to the exhaustion invoked by a combination of sleep deprivation and the realization that he has no resources such as food to assist him in… however long he’s out here, he finds the sky, navy in the depths of an ocean he has not seen a long time.

He wonders if Trayaurus is looking at the same stars. He can only hope one of them finds comfort in what used to be something so pure.

(He does not sleep well. Day has returned and when the parrots call out to each other, whatever numbness was temporarily coaxing the fear away is ripped away. Dan doesn’t blame them. They are only half the reason he is unable to find peace)

In the end, the predator grows tired of waiting for its pray.

Brian is waiting for him, although his back is turned to Dan when he enters the clearing, he stops instantly when Brian’s voice breaks the comfortable silence, one Dan had taken for advantage prior to the incident, “took you long enough.”

Dan finds a stick in his inventory, the only thing he carries that somewhat resembles a weapon “ well,” He spares a glance around the clearing, unnerved, once again, at the spareness of life, the uncomfortable, eerie stillness that seems to accompany this being wherever he goes “ this situation isn’t exactly… ideal.”

“ That’s fair, actually,” The silence that ensues is a prompt that is the way Brian shifts his weight towards the east, never truly facing Dan, but unsettling nonetheless. Despite the fear that both trips him, gleefully watching the hostile creatures of this, he doesn’t care to indulge this creature whose power is haunting, that which is palpable in the way a passing sheep’s eyes go the color of quartz, albeit more glassy, and the way Brian simply holds up his hand, halting the creature in its tracks as it begins to charge Dan. After a minute of this act, Brian sighs, more dramatic then needed, and he turns to face Dan.

(Dan thinks that, perhaps, the worst part of this burden, one he will carry for the rest of his life even after the blinding light behind his eyes fades, is how humanized Brian becomes. He still wears the shirt of the man he used to be, in every retelling, no matter how skewed, or biased.)

“ Fine, if you're going to be like that,” Brian extends a hand towards Dan, and he is encircled by villagers, all of whom are too close to his best friend for comfort, and far from him, the hollowness of their eyes, the same malice he’s only seen reflected in the eyes of zombies, is what makes him hesitate, despite his instinct “ Let’s play a game, shall we?” 

(Dan notes, as the pigs butt against the villager’s legs, attempting to infiltrate the circle the possessed villagers have formed around him, that they don’t seem to need protecting from barley-conscious beings of iron.)

As he scrambles over a hill, he catches a glimpse of himself in the water, and stops in his tracks to stare in horror at what reflects back at him.

His pupils are far past dilation, almost completed whited-out “ Trayarusus,” He whispers to nobody in particular, touching his cheek with a shaky hand, “ Notch, what are you playing at?”

(As it turns out, Brian’s not done with toying with him, as another circle of villagers spawns around him. He forces his way through them, barely registering the pain over the thought,  _ I don’t want to be a bad guy. _ )

* * *

(After spending the night beneath the sand, pressed uncomfortably against the wall of the two-block area he’s enclosed in, he emerges after he can’t hear the hiss of spiders anymore, still half-awake, when he finds a chest waiting for him only a few paces away, a sign on the block above it, carved with unsettling precision.

_ Have some chicken _ .

_ -H _

He takes the chicken because he knows he will die without it. He doesn’t let himself dwell on why Herobrine left him what seems to be a peace offering.)

* * *

**he touches you, like a prayer for which no words exist, and you feel your**

**heart taking root in your body, like you’ve discovered something you**

**don’t even have a name for.**

Robert Siken

* * *

“ Oh,” Dan flinches at Brian’s voice. There’s something deeply unsettling about how he’s drawn to Brian, despite the danger that’s already been presented within the span of less than a full day, “ has someone finally accepted his fate?”

He turns to Brian, who’s leaning against a tree, waiting for his invitation to approach, “ Don’t really have much of a choice now, do I?” 

He doesn’t sound nearly as bitter as he intended, but when Brian says “ I suppose,” he doesn’t sound like himself either. It’s a bad day for both of them, he supposes.

(What brings him out of his thoughts is the way Brian almost stumbles into a cactus, and has to steady himself against nothing. The expression on his face is one that Dan’s only experienced a handful of times, when spiders who dwell far beneath the earth have caught him by surprise from above when he’s collecting redstone for Trayaurus’s next project, or he’s too slow to leap out of the way of the witch that occupy the swamps he gathers decorations for the lab from. All that Dan can think is  _ that’s not possible. _ )

“ … are you okay?”

The look Brian gives him Dan thinks is meant to be a smile, but his face contorts again, far too quickly for him to be entirely sure after the night’s events, “ That’s cute,” He falls against the hill with no grace, wincing at what little damage he takes, “ no. Do you mind my company?”

“ Honestly,” Dan retrieves his stick, and Brian looks at him with such condescension that it feeds into the already emotionally charged atmosphere, “ quite a bit, yeah,” Dan takes his place sitting across from Brian with a resigned sigh, fingers still curled around the stick, as a precaution, despite the fact that they both know it will do nothing if Brian chooses to start a physical altercation, “ but I don’t have anything better to do, now do I?”

“ Hah,” Brian’s laugh isn’t what Dan expected; he laughs quietly, voice breaking as he turns his eyes to the sky for a moment, “ yeah.”

It’s Dan’s turn to break the silence, because he’s had far too much of it, even though it’s only been a few days, “ Can I ask you a question?”

“ Please, go ahead,” Brian attempts to sit up, but is halted in his efforts by a tremor that shakes his entire body involuntarily (or Dan can only assume, from the grimace that follows) and he sinks back into the sand, closing his eyes, and tipping his head back so that the sun, who’s reached her full height, shines directly into his face,“ it’s better I answer you now anyways. I don’t think I’m going to last much longer.”

“ What-“ 

Brian is holding his ribs as if they will crumble if he does not. He’s in  _ pain _ .

“ You’re dying.”

Brian laughs, short, and cut off by an effort to contain an embarrassing noise of pain that arises from the strain on his stomach, “ I haven’t experienced pain in decades. It’s nice.”

“  _ How _ ?” He isn’t ashamed at how incredulous he sounds, because he’s put more effort into documenting and researching this man than he’s put into ensuring safety measures are in place before he executes his experiments, “ you’re supposed to be immortal.”  _ This isn’t supposed to be able to happen _ , is understood, despite Dan not saying it aloud.

“ Have you forgotten this was a curse placed upon me?” The exasperation in his tone has no end, and Dan wonders if that’s an immortal thing, the mindset that mortals are dumber than those who have witnessed stars die, “ death was inevitable. The Gods just wanted to draw out my suffering for a while,” The grin he directs towards Dan is nothing short of vindictive, and Dan gets the sense that if it was raining, lightning would strike him right about now, impossible, but expected,“ I think they’re quite tired of me now, which is alright with me.”

“ Why me?”

“ Your friend, Pat,” There’s something unconsciously sinister about the way Brian knows the first name of the one friend Dan has who may understand this more than him, “ we have a history as well. But you,” He looks at Dan, who recognizes the challenge in his eyes, one that’s kept the light of the lab on for days on end as Trayaurus builds machines beyond Dan’s comprehension, “ well, I guess more you’re friend, summoned me,” He meets Dan’s eyes, and he realizes he hasn’t met Brian’s gaze fully, this entire time, because he wouldn’t be able to ignore how Brian’s eyes resemble the void, persistent and exhausted simultaneously, and something only a servant of death could embody, “ I don’t answer just anyone’s call, Dan.”

“ I didn’t summon you,” Dan’s still quite angry at his friend, despite the feeling he gets that Brian doesn’t care about much of what he’s saying, “ Trayaurus did.”

“ I know,” Brian turns his attention away from Dan momentarily, off to the distance, and Dan indulges the anger that’s been fermenting in the hollow of his stomach for two days now, the exhaustion in his lack of posture, until Brian speaks again, “ I don’t think the Sky Gods would be too happy if I punished one of their creations, though. They quite like their,” Dan doesn’t like how Brian looks him over with something like pity in his eyes, “ playthings.” Brian Turns away from Dan again, but there is a distinct lack of the nonchalance he’s been able to uphold up until now, “ I also think you’re strong enough to endure this, and if there’s anything you will need, it is strength. And your friends,” the passion in Brian’s voice is yet another surprise, considering how composed he was previously “ don’t make the same mistake I did, Dan.”

“ I’ll try.”

(And he does. He really does try.)

“ That’s all we can ever really do,” The coughing fit that takes hold of Brian this time lasts for a minute, possibly more, and when Brian draws his palm away from his mouth, Dan can see blood. He doesn’t even look that scared; he just looks tired as he attempts to gesture to the space beside him, “ will you sit with me? It’s been so long since I had something like a friend,” and Dan can finally see humanity in this man who takes as willingly as the forces of that watch from the sky in the way he is afraid of death. He looks at Herobrine and realizes just how much he’s taken advantage of the ability bargained for by legends his friends have since replaced, to respawn, “ I… really don’t want to die alone.”

(Dan does him one better. He moves over to where Brian is slumped against the grass, and slides his arms under Brian’s and moves him, slowly, and watching for when Brian winces, until he’s leaning against Dan’s chest. He’s died in challenges before, but he’s never truly been alone, not like Brian has, the kind of alone that makes your eyes go far away and sad when you think of old friends. He doesn’t let go of Brian, arms cramping until he finally, abruptly, fades into pixels.

Herobrine dies the way he wanted, despite the vengeful gods of the sky; without any fanfare, and in the arms of someone who cared, despite his wrongdoings.)

* * *

_ You will never be free _ , are Herobrine’s last words, said with no malice despite the implication out of context, and he’s completely right.

He doesn’t know how it happens. All he knows he gets separated from Techno, who rushes as if he has nothing to lose, and there’s a kid with a  _ wildly _ out of place Christmas hat, rushing him with a stone sword and leather pants, dyed purple at the knees. He moves to parry the kid,

and he doesn’t know how it happens, but the kid falls backwards, and Dan realizes, behind the sunglasses, there’s a familiar, pulsating glow.

“ I’m sorry,” He says, and knocks the kid’s feet from underneath him, at Techno’s call, retrieving his own sword as the kid writhes, dazed, on the ground,” I’m so sorry,” he whispers, too quiet for whoever this poor soul he’s doomed to hear, and drives the blade into his chest. It’s quick, albeit not painless, but Techno rounds the corner, his own signature cape torn.

(The Diamond Minecraft wears his goggles for the first and last time  _ ever _ . Techno takes notice, he does, but understands from personal experience, how is obligated to their own secrets.)

**Author's Note:**

> i’m going to try to post this series in chronological order, so you guys are going to be hearing/seeing dan for a bit longer. from there we move to deo and the other mystery person who’s a ‘brine. if you guys have any suggestions for ccs who you think would be a good fit for this au, lmk and i’m happy to research and see if they fit properly :)


End file.
